British Empire/Transcript
Transcript Text reads: The Mysteries of Life with Tim and Moby. British soldiers occupy a fort, aiming their guns. Moby and Tim are dressed in Revolutionary War-era British oufits. Tim reads a letter. TIM: Dear Tim and Moby, why do they say that "the Sun never sets on the British Empire"? What does that mean? From, Amara. At the height of the British Empire, it was literally true: at any time, somewhere in the world, the sun was shining on British territory. It was by far the largest empire in history. An animation shows a map of the British Empire, before showing the world. MOBY: Beep? TIM: An empire is a state that accumulates land beyond its own borders. MOBY: Beep? TIM: Well, when a country acquires new territory, it gains control of that land's natural resources. It also gets new markets to sell goods in; a new population to tax; and new spots to build military bases which they can use to expand the empire! Plus, they can establish colonies, which are settlements of their own citizens. An animation shows a British conqueror claiming land; a native offering gold and getting taxed by the conqueror for it; and the conqueror standing in front of a military fort. Other people appear in front of the fort. MOBY: Beep. TIM: Yeah, it's an aggressive way to engage the world. But as explorers discovered new lands in the 15th and 16th centuries, the major European powers all aimed to establish the biggest and most powerful empire. An animation shows the King of England reading a newspaper with the words "Columbus Discovers New World! Race for Global Domination Begins". TIM: England got into the game a little late; it wasn't until the early 17th century that it established its first permanent settlements in the Americas. But by the mid-1700s, they'd accquired quite a bit of land in the Caribbean, Latin America, Canada, and the eastern coast of North America. An animation shows a map of North America, with the red parts highlighting British territories. MOBY: Beep. TIM: Right, in most of these places, the people who already lived there got... uh... pushed aside. In North America, the various Indian tribes were slowly forced off their land. An animation shows Native Americans sadly leaving their territories. TIM: Closer to home, the British Empire absorbed Ireland, putting its people under English rule. Meanwhile, the East India Trading Company, a private company with close ties to the British crown, took control of north-eastern India. An animation shows Ireland turning red, as well as a section of northeast India turning red. TIM: And in 1763, after a successful war against France and Spain, the British Empire added even more land in North America. An animation shows the map of North America, with a bubble showing the flags of France and Spain interlocked, and more red is added to the map. TIM: That was the high point of what we now call the First British Empire. But in 1783, the American colonists won their independence. An animation shows a young Thomas Jefferson holding a document. TIM: It was a major setback: The British lost one of their largest and most profitable colonies. An animation shows the King of England hanging his head in shame. America has a black "x" over it. MOBY: Beep? TIM: Well, they still had enormous wealth and the most powerful navy in the world. And after defeating Napoleon's French armies in 1815, Great Britain becamethe world's only superpower. An animation shows a globe that shows British flags set up in the territories claimed by the British, in different parts of the globe (Australia, eastern India, and northeast Canada). TIM: It spent the next century adding to the Empire, mainly in the East. It claimed Australia, at first as a penal colony - a place to send prisoners. An animation is shown with the same red colonies. Australia is zoomed in on, with a bubble showing shackled prisoners walking onto a ship, with a sign that says "Australia or bust!" TIM: And after the East India Company had basically taken over the whole of India, the British government took control of that country in 1858. An animation shows the rest of India turning red. TIM: It also took over much of Southeast Asia and the Chinese island city of Hong Kong. An animation shows British soldiers marching through an Asian town. TIM: In Africa, the Empire claimed territories from South Africa to Egypt. By the early 20th century, this is what the British Empire looked like. The British held land on every continent - even Antarctica - and a quarter of the planet's people answered to the British government! An animation shows red parts of Africa, before zooming out to show a map of the British Empire by the early 20th century. TIM: That was the farthest the Second British Empire would ever expand. What followed was a period of decolonization - giving control to its territories back to the people who lived there. MOBY: Beep? TIM: Well, believe it or not, Britain had never set out to dominate the world. It acquired its lands bit by bit mainly to counter the growing influence of other European empires. An animation shows a queen eating a cake in the shape of the world. TIM: As time wore on, the British public grew less comfortable with the idea that their democracy ruled over millions of people by force. An animation shows protestors holding signs such as "End this bloomin' Empire!" and "England out of India!" TIM: Another factor was money. After World War I, Britain simply couldn't afford to govern, police, and defend all these different territories. An animation shows the King of England holding open a chest that says "GB's Wealth", and the gold inside decreasing in size. TIM: Revolts put the Empire on the defensive in places like Ireland, Egypt, and India... and World War II devastated Brain as well. An animation shows stars being put on the places that Tim mentions, to indicate the revolts. TIM: 'By the end of the 20th century, most of its other territories had claimed independence. 1997 marked a sort of ceremonial end to the Empire, with the handover of the Chinese government. ''An animation shows the 1997 Handover of Hong Kong. '''MOBY: Beep? TIM: Well, the point isn't to judge Britain's empire as good or bad. It was just a dominant force of history, and we can learn a lot about the world from studying it! It gave birth to some of the world's greatest democracies - including the United States, Canada, Australia, and India. But it helped create the slave trade between Africa and the Americas. An animation shows the flags of the USA, Ireland, India, Canada, South Africa, and Australia. A photograph below this shows British officers forcing slaves onto a ship. TIM: It used its power to maintain the Pax Britannica - a period of relative worldwide peace in the 19th century. But the terms of that peace led to World Wars I and II in the 20th century. An animation shows photographs of soldiers in a trench (World War I) and Nazi invading a country (World War II). TIM: The Empired modernized its eastern lands with railways, telegraphs, and industry. An animation zooms in on Australia, and shows bubbles of a railroad track, a telegraph, and a factory. TIM: But it created new countries in arbitrary ways, ignoring longstanding borders. An animation keeps the bubbles, but changes the image of Australia to a queen painting the border lines of Africa. TIM: And that resulted in countless land conflicts that continue to this day. An angry mob is heard. TIM: I say, better get us out of here; any minute now, thousands of dissatisfied royal subjects are about to pour over that hill... MOBY: Beep! Moby activates his teleporter and teleports them away from the fort. They end up wearing different clothes. TIM: Whew, for a second there I thought we were going to be in trouble there. A foghorn sounds off; They are revealed to be on the RMS Titanic. Category:BrainPOP Transcripts Category:BrainPOP Social Studies Transcripts